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Photos by Carlos Castro and Voices staff

Porter Drive is lined with the sort of independent, locally owned commerce usually found on the grubby outskirts of most American cities: Body shops, upholstery shops, welders, tool rentals, used cars lots, towing services, mechanics and the best Mexican food restaurants in the region. You’ll also find a prominent tobacco and smoke shop, with a selection of vape products, pipes and hookahs. And there’s a beauty salon next to the upholstery shop.

All this is along two blocks on the south side of The Bridge, the commercial heart of downtown Pajaro, population 3,070.

By contrast, the north side of The Bridge, across the Pajaro River, is a tree-lined example of a classic American Main Street. There’s a Burger King and a McDonald’s about a block from The Bridge. Main Street Watsonville glistens with the shine of recent redevelopment.

The Bridge is the stitch that binds Pajaro to modern convenience.

The Bridge is also what binds Pajaro, an unincorporated community that is technically located in Monterey County, to Watsonville, the second-largest city in Santa Cruz County.

It’s a bit of an awkward situation. The residents of Pajaro have a natural affinity to an adjoining city in a county just across the river, while they are dependent on Monterey County for basic services.

Still, Pajaro has a strong sense of its own identity. Nearly 95 percent of its population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The median age of the community’s residents is almost 24 years, one of the youn